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Crude oil prices gained in Asia today as an unexpected narrowing of the US trade deficit and slowing Chinese inflation rate buoyed markets, analysts said.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, gained 10 cents to $85.19 a barrel while Brent North Sea crude for December delivery was up 15 cents at $107.40.
Hopes that the US economy — the world’s largest oil consumer — was on the mend were boosted after trade data released late yesterday exceeded analysts’ expectations, Capital Economics said in a report.
“The unexpected narrowing of trade deficit in September opens the door to a modest upward revision to third-quarter real GDP growth,” the report stated.
The US trade deficit narrowed in September to $41.5 billion, down from $43.8 billion in August, on a rebound in exports to a record level, Commerce Department data showed.
The improvement surprised most analysts, who had forecast that the deficit would widen to $45.4 billion.
Meanwhile in China, the National Bureau of Statistics data released earlier on Friday showed the inflation rate of the world’s largest energy consumer slowing to a gain of 1.7 per cent year-on-year in October.
The slowing inflation rate was welcome news to crude traders, said Jason Hughes, head of premium client management for IG Markets Singapore.
“The easing inflationary pressure... gives Chinese officials more scope to implement measures should the global situation deteriorate further,” he said.
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